Temporal and Spatial Influences on Fawn Summer Survival in Pronghorn Populations: Management Implications from Noninvasive Monitoring.

Monitoring vital rates allows managers to estimate trends in growth rates of ungulate populations. However, connecting the influence of nutrition on ungulate demography is challenging. Noninvasive sampling offers a low-cost, low-effort alternative for measuring nutritional indices, allowing for an increased understanding of the mechanistic relationships between environmental factors, nutrition, and specific population vital rates.

Changes in Fecal Glucocorticoid Metabolites in Captive Coyotes (): Influence of Gender, Time, and Reproductive Status.

Reproduction is considered an energetically and physiologically demanding time in the life of an animal. Changes in physiological stress are partly reflected in changes in glucocorticoid metabolites and can be measured from fecal samples. We examined levels of fecal glucocorticoid metabolites (fGCMs) in 24 captive coyotes () to investigate responses to the demands of reproduction.

Seasonal shifts in pronghorn antelope (Antilocapra americana) diets under a new lens: Examining diet composition using a molecular technique.

Foraging is one of the most fundamental activities contributing to the maximization of an animal's fitness, and thus herbivores must optimize their diet selection and intake to meet their nutrient demands for survival, growth, and reproduction. Using plant DNA barcoding, we determined diet composition of five subpopulations of adult female pronghorn antelope (Antilocapra americana) grazing rangelands in southern and southeastern Idaho, USA. Fecal samples were collected for two years (2018-2019), and across metabolically-important adult female life history stages (late gestation, early lactation, breeding season).

Short-term impact of a wildfire on the homeostasis of Tropidurus oreadicus lizards.

Wildfires cause significant changes in natural habitats and can impact lizard populations. Through changes in the thermal environment, reduced prey availability, and increased exposure to parasite vectors, wildfires affect lizard physiology, immunity, and health. We sampled 56 Tropidurus oreadicus lizards from Cerrado savannas of Brazil living in two adjacent sites: one burned 14 days before the study, and the other unburned for 6 years.

Variations, validations, degradations, and noninvasive determination of pregnancy using fecal steroid metabolites in free-ranging pronghorn.

Pregnancy status is a key parameter used to assess reproductive performance of a species as it represents a starting point for measuring vital rates. Vital rates allow managers to determine trends in populations such as neonate survival and recruitment; two important factors in ungulate population growth rates. Techniques to determine pregnancy have generally involved capture and restraint of the animal to obtain blood samples for determining serum hormone levels.